Tianjin, China / Wimbledon, England, 1 July 2018 – APG House overlooking the practice courts of Wimbledon served as the perfect location to launch the 2018 Tianjin Open which will celebrate its 5-year anniversary from October 8-14 later this year.

The launch featured as part of APG's Pre-Wimbledon Dinner and focuses upon Tianjin welcoming the world through "High Fives" to mark the tournament's first major milestone while inviting past and current players, tournament champions and guests to visit in 2018 to "Build the Next Tennis Dream for Tianjin" and the beautiful Jinghai District.

The ‘High Five! Return With Passion' theme is expressed through the release of the commemorative five-year logo and poster which showcase elements of Tianjin, Jinghai and the four previous champions of the Tianjin Open and looks to the future by asking who will lift the 2018 Tianjin Open trophy.

Steve Simon, WTA CEO

Micky Lawler, WTA President

PengShuai

Stephen Duckitt, Tournament Director of 2018 TianjinOpen

Tianjin Open, owned by APG and operated by Tuanbo Haomai (Tianjin) Sport and Culture Development company was first held in 2014 at the magnificent Tianjin Tuanbo International Center and saw American Alison Riske claim the first Tianjin Open crown and her maiden WTA career title, a historic double achievement.

Poland's Agniezska Radwanska claimed the 2015 Tianjin Open at her first attempt, before Peng Shuai became the first Chinese player to win the Tianjin Open in 2016. Last year, global superstar Maria Sharapova added her name to the Tianjin Open honor board and continued the run of first time champions defeating rising talent ArynaSabalenka in a pulsating final in front of a sold-out crowd.

Tickets for this year's event are now on sale and information can be found via the tournament website – www.tianjinopen.com.